


Keepsakes

by skybraid



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drama, Gen, Marauders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 10:16:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12909834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skybraid/pseuds/skybraid
Summary: They were her favorites, and she keeps what little she has to remember them by tucked safely away.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the Harry Potter series of books, their author J.K. Rowling, or the Warner Bros. films based upon them. This is a work of fiction inspired by a work of fiction.

Minerva McGonagall keeps a wooden box in the bottom drawer of her office desk, and every now and then she takes the box out and gently unfolds and re-reads all the handwritten notes she confiscated from the Marauders during classes years ago.  
  
It's hard to look back on those days, knowing the tragedy that was waiting in the wings, but when she's reading those notes she can pretend that no time has passed at all, and that her beautiful boys are safely tucked away in the dormitory, or making a ruckus in the library, or walking arm in arm through the halls, bringing chaos and laughter and joy wherever they go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with the Harry Potter series of books, their author J.K. Rowling, or the Warner Bros. films based upon them. This is a work of fiction inspired by a work of fiction.

All of them wrote regularly after they left school. She was their favorite, too, after all. As the war continued, however, the letters came less and less frequently.

  
Sirius was growing infamous in the Auror ranks for his brilliance and skill. He went on more and more missions for both the Ministry and the Order, into increasingly dangerous situations. He was already making enemies, and couldn't afford to leave a trail pointing toward anyone he cared about.

  
Remus's correspondence was as calm and measured as the man himself. Minerva knew that Remus contributed to the Order, but like many of its agents, a great number of Remus's missions were known strictly to him and Dumbledore. And lifelong scholar he may be, but some of the "academic queries" he posed to her touched on subjects she doubted would ever come up in a classroom. He too, began to distance himself from those not out in the field.

  
It was upsetting when the letters from James stopped so abruptly but the Dark Lord had set his sights on the Potters at last and they were forced to go into hiding, cutting off all contact. During those weeks of silence, which was the best they could hope for, Minerva often re-read the last message he'd sent her. Light-hearted, like all his letters. Updates on Lily and the baby, and promises to be safe and see each other again soon.

  
Years later, when the horrible truth finally came out, Minerva sat at her desk with her small pile of Peter's letters, reading and re-reading and re-reading, trying to understand, trying to _see_. If there was a clue or a warning hidden in those words, she couldn't find it.

  
She kept each and every letter from her boys. The letters they had written for her, the letters they had held in their own hands before passing them to hers.

  
She kept them all.


End file.
